Quenter Ramogi recently joined Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) as a member of the agency’s Equal Opportunity, Diversity, and Inclusion Team. She previously held similar roles as an Affirmative Action Officer at the Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota State University, Mankato. 

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, with a minor in Environmental Science and a Master of Science degree in Gender and Women’s studies from Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Q: What makes you excited about working with MNIT?

Ramogi: I’m excited to continue the diversity, inclusion, and equity work for the state of Minnesota. I am a trained Equal Opportunity Specialist, well equipped with conflict resolution, mediation, and investigation skills. 

I hope I’ll be able to bridge the gap about what Minnesota looks like and its values, and the practices of state government. It’s so important that we are proactive. We need to not just talk about diversity, but to work on practicing our principles. MNIT’s vision of a more innovative digital government for all will only happen when we can show that people from different areas of life bring different experiences, skills, and knowledge that will help us achieve our goals. 

Q: What should we know about who you are? 

Ramogi: In my free time, I love to participate in outdoor activities and going on adventures. I enjoy traveling around, meeting new people, and forming friendships, which also helps me improve my multicultural skills. 

Q: What will be the focus of your role at MNIT? 

Ramogi: While MNIT expands its focus to new inclusion-related strategies and initiatives, I will play a critical role in keeping our foundation strong. My focus will be on enforcing equal opportunity and affirmative action laws and policies. 

As I’ve done in other roles, I’ll immediately take over as lead investigator on most complaints of protected-class harassment (including sexual harassment), discrimination, and retaliation. I will also begin making reasonable accommodations for people with a disability. Finally, I’ll monitor the activities laid out in MNIT’s Affirmative Action Plan to keep the agency on course to meet its goals and objectives. 

Q: What kind of variety of work will you do? 

Ramogi: Our team covers three distinct types of work, but they all are incredibly important. Diversity ensures that we have different staff members on board. That can be based on an individual’s protected class, but we need to first make sure that we have different groups working at MNIT because of the different perspectives and knowledge they bring. 

Inclusion work means that diverse staff have the same opportunities for growth as those in non-protected classes. Promotion, leadership, and project opportunities must be available for all individuals. Equity gives everyone an opportunity to grow in an equitable way. We must acknowledge that those in minority groups may not have the same resources and privileges as other groups, and there it’s our job to make opportunities and resources available to account for inequitable systems. 

Q: What role do you think that technology/digital services plays in equity? 

Ramogi: From my experiences with other parts of state government, I developed a curiosity to work with people in IT. I think that technology is going to open the field for us to reach more people about what we do. Especially when training others on equity and inclusion, digital solutions are what you need.